Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request

Whether the CPS looked into the circumstances of a person’s death having been found ‘fit to work’ by the DWP or following a benefit sanction by the DWP.

Request

1. Since 2010 have the CPS looked into the circumstances of a person’s death having been found ‘fit to work’ by the DWP or following a benefit sanction by the DWP
2. Has [Have] any guidelines for handling of DWP Relate[d] cases been created?

Response

We, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), have interpreted ‘looked into’ to mean investigated. The CPS is a prosecuting authority and therefore has not investigated the circumstances described in part one of your request.

The Police and/or the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) may be able to provide data relating to investigations into the circumstances described in part one of your FOI request. The organisations can be contacted via the following links:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/index.htm

https://foi.directory/police-forces/

A guide to co-operation between the CPS, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) exists in the format of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This document is published on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) website and for your information can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.cps.gov.uk/socpa-information

Information Management Unit 020 3357 0899 IMU@cps.gov.uk